Let us now live and learn.
Learning to please God is very important as we begin to get accustomed to our Mass times with their new norms. Social distancing and wearing our face masks, which have become necessary parts of our participation in the Mass, whilst also being aware that for some persons the wearing of a mask may not be possible for medical reasons. There is always some underlying level of fear, so let us now recognise this and make it part of our prayer; so that our time at Mass may bear real fruit. This is at the heart of our faith, and the witness of our Mass is the foundation upon which we will build for the future of our parish.
The meeting of our parish finance committee successfully attended to the need to oversee our financial circumstances, health and safety, child protection and our other responsibilities. An overview of provision for the future was also discussed and fully documented in the minutes. Any decisions made will be communicated widely when we can clarify requirements for such activities. Please God, the dreadfully difficult circumstances created by the virus will be at an end and important questions about our future can be addressed. The question of skyping and providing the necessary technology were uppermost in our minds.
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. This was a great event when I was growing up and for many years one of the more major celebrations in the churches year. It highlighted the end of the summer holidays and marked the preparation about to begin to return to school. It was the highlight of many social events, so it celebrated much of the joys of life. This has always been a helpful aspect to our Catholic faith and is especially true this year as we survive the casualty brought about by coronavirus. It is important for us to be clear that this will not go on for ever, but that even now we can begin to prepare for life when we can happily recall it as something from our past experience.
Through the weeks to come we will be more at ease with the tensions, which for the moment have a negative effect on our lives. With God’s help we will learn to live with these anxiety’s and though sometimes life is cruel, these are the things through which we triumph, by the power of Him who loves us. Christ Jesus our Lord..